Secretary-General, at Unstoppable Africa 2025 Event, Says Continent Stands at Centre of Opportunity, Urging Investment in Its People, Potential

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks to Global Business Initiative: Unstoppable Africa 2025, in New York today:

We gather on the eve of the United Nations eightieth General Assembly high-level week - at a time of turbulence, but also tremendous opportunity.

Africa stands at the centre of that opportunity. The continent is home to the world's youngest population, abundant renewable-energy resources and extraordinary creativity - from fintech to fashion, from agriculture to artificial intelligence.

Our challenge - and responsibility - is to turn this extraordinary promise into an engine of inclusive and sustainable prosperity, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063 and the Pact for the Future.

First, we must unleash the full potential of Africa's growth through the African Continental Free Trade Area. But, this requires enhanced infrastructure - roads, ports, energy grids, harmonized standards and predictable regulations.

Second, we must drive a green industrial revolution. Africa's sun and wind can help power it.

Yet, it only receives 2 per cent of global renewable energy investment - a glaring injustice. We need a surge in solar and wind projects, expanded grids and storage, and universal energy access for the 600 million Africans still without power. Developed countries must honour their commitments - including doubling adaptation finance.

Africa's critical minerals are essential for the clean energy economy. But, this must not be another story of extraction without inclusion. My Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals put forward guiding principles to ensure fairness, transparency and sustainability across the value chain - with human rights at the core.

Third, we must transform food systems. Africa holds more than half of the world's uncultivated arable land - but imports over $100 billion on food annually. We must end this paradox - by scaling climate-smart agriculture, investing in irrigation and storage, reducing post-harvest losses and empowering smallholders, especially women. The United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake in Addis Ababa showed Africa's leadership.

Fourth, we must accelerate Africa's digital leap. The General Assembly has now established two global mechanisms: the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. They will provide independent expertise and set shared principles, and Africa must be fully engaged in shaping them from the start.

Affordable connectivity, regional capacities and training can unlock inclusive growth and millions of jobs for Africa's youth. That is why I am calling for a global effort in AI capacity-building, so that innovation serves development.

None of this will be possible without finance. African leadership at the Group of 20 (G20) is pushing to cut the cost of capital, including through South Africa's Cost of Capital Commission, so investment reaches Africa at affordable rates.

We need a fundamental overhaul of international financial institutions, so that they reflect today's realities, not yesterday's power structures. Delivering on that means supporting countries in debt distress, helping them recover while preventing future crises; tripling the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks and expanding their role in derisking private investment and private finance for the continent; and giving African countries a stronger representation in global institutions.

And reform must extend to the United Nations itself, including the reform of the Security Council. Africa's permanent representation is long overdue. It's a scandal that there is still no African Permanent Representative in the Security Council.

Africa is opportunity. This event provides a platform to deepen partnerships to power the spirit of Unstoppable Africa. So, let us invest in Africa's people and potential. And make Africa's rise undeniable, inevitable and unstoppable.